The Sapiential Hermeneutics of Bonaventure of Bagnoregio: Context and Development

Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (c.1217-1274) was a scholastic in the University of Paris and an ecclesiastical administrator of the Franciscan Order in thirteenth-century Latin West. This thesis demonstrates Bonaventure’s approach to reading the Bible, taking into consideration his response to changing contexts and audiences. Bonaventure models a contextually sensitive approach to understanding the wisdom (sapientia) of Scripture, bridging the theoretical and the practical, that is methodologically instructive. This thesis also shows how his uniquely practical approach to reading can be applied to our modern settings.